AN: HAHAHAHA!!! I FINISHED THEM!
Now....
I disappear!
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The observation room erupted in chatter when Anim and Jiro returned from their victory.
"Dude, what was that glowing thing around you?" Kaminari asked immediately. "I've never seen anything like that!"
"Some kind of energy barrier," Anim said, trying to sound casual while internally wondering the same thing. "Still working on it."
"It looked almost like ki from those old martial arts movies from the Pre-Quirk era," Kirishima said excitedly. "That's so manly!!!"
Jiro shot him a curious look but didn't say anything. She'd been quiet since they'd regrouped after the fight, though he'd caught her watching him with that thoughtful expression again.
"EXCELLENT WORK!" All Might boomed, reviewing his notes. "Young Ashido's tactical approach to the traps was impressive, and young Jiro's support work with Kaminari showed great teamwork!"
"Wait, how did your fight go?" Anim asked Jiro. He'd been so focused on reaching the weapon that he'd barely heard what happened on the lower floors.
"Kaminari short-circuited himself trying to hit me with a big attack," she said with a small smirk. "I just had to avoid his lightning for about three minutes until he went stupid."
"Hey!" Kaminari protested. "That's not fair! Your sound waves kept messing up my aim!"
"That's the point," Jiro replied dryly with a deadpan on her face.
The remaining battles proceeded quickly. Tokoyami and Tsu demolished their opponents with shadow and mobility, while Kirishima and Ojiro lost terribly against Todoroki since he froze the entire building. Each fight showed different approaches to the same basic scenario, but none of them felt as intense as that moment when Anim had first felt the energy flowing around him.
"Alright, everyone!" All Might called out as the final battle concluded. "That wraps up today's training! You all showed great potential, though there's clearly room for improvement!"
As the class started to disperse toward the changing rooms, Anim by some godly miracle found himself walking beside Jiro again.
A: yeah sure...
"So," she said quietly, giving him a side-glance "what was that energy thingy?"
"Honestly? No idea." He glanced around to make sure nobody was listening. "I only figured out how to do it yesterday."
"Yesterday?" Her eyebrows shot up. "You mean you just... discovered a whole new aspect of your Quirk yesterday despite having it for so many years?"
"Yeah, as weird as it sounds." The memory fragments from his past life were still blurry but he somehow still remembered with relish some fragments of him watching Buu fight, with powers that went beyond simple body manipulation, energy that could be shaped and controlled with enough practice. "I'm trying to figure it out."
"That's..." Jiro paused, like she was choosing her words carefully. "That's kind of amazing. Most people's Quirks don't just suddenly develop new abilities."
"Most people? you mean like no one suddenly develops new abilities," he said with a grin that was half-joking, half-serious.
She gave him a look—an exasperated glare at him.
They reached the changing rooms, and Anim was about to head into the boys' side when Jiro caught his arm.
"Hey," she said, her cheeks slightly pink. "Good job today. That partnership thing... it worked pretty well."
"Yeah, it did." He found himself studying her face, noting how the afternoon light caught the dark purple of her hair. "We should do it again sometime."
"Maybe we will."
There was something in her tone that made his stomach feel butterflies, but before he could figure out what to say to that, Mina's voice sounded from the open door of the girls changing room.
"Anim! Get your ass done already! I want to hear everything about your fight!"
He sighed. "Duty calls."
"Go," Jiro said chuckling, she clearly looked amused. "I'll see you in class tomorrow."
As he walked away, Anim caught himself glancing back at her. There was definitely something developing between them, though he wasn't entirely sure what. The whole situation was complicated by the fact that he still felt like he was figuring out who he was, let alone what he wanted.
After he changed he met with Mina waiting for him outside the room.
"So," Mina said the moment he reached her, "spill. What was that energy thing? And don't try to tell me it was just your regular Quirk because I've seen your regular Quirk and that wasn't it."
"It's new," he admitted. "Started yesterday during training."
"New how? Like, evolution new or 'I've been hiding this' new?"
"Evolution, I think." He lowered his voice as other classmates gathered around. "It felt like... like there was this energy inside me that I could pull to the surface. Protective, but also something more."
"That's incredible!" Midoriya had appeared beside them, his arm in a sling but his eyes bright with curiosity. "Quirk evolution is extremely rare, especially in teenagers. The only documented cases happened during moments of extreme stress basically life a—"
"Slow down there, analysis boy," Mina laughed. "Let him breathe."
But Anim was looking at Midoriya with new interest. "You seem to know a lot about Quirks for someone who just discovered his own."
Midoriya's face went red. "I just... I've always been interested in hero work. I studied a lot of Quirk theory before coming here."
"Right." Anim didn't push, but he didn't believe a cent about Midoriya's explanation, it clearly didn't quite add up. The boy's knowledge seemed too detailed, too specific for casual interest. And that power he'd displayed—the way it had destroyed his arm suggested he really was new to using it, as if... he'd stolen it.
'Surely not... right?'
"Anyway," Kirishima said, slapping Anim on the shoulder dragging him out of those dangerous thoughts, "whatever that energy was, it looked awesome man! care to have a match later"
Kirishima said with a feral grin on his face, ready for another bout.
As they made their way back to school, Anim found his thoughts split between the energy he'd discovered and the girl who'd fought beside him. Both felt like they were leading somewhere important, though he couldn't say where.
His phone buzzed with a text from his parents asking about his first day of real hero training. He started to type a response, then stopped, staring at the words on the screen.
How do you explain to your parents that you might be developing powers that go beyond anything they'd understand? How do you tell them that their son might be becoming something that didn't quite fit into the normal hero-villain paradigm?
Instead, he typed: "Went well. Made some progress with my Quirk. See you at home."
It wasn't a lie, exactly. But it wasn't the whole truth either.
As the bus pulled away from U.A., Anim caught sight of Jiro through the window, walking toward the train station with her earbuds in and that familiar bored expression on her face.
Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new opportunities to explore what he was becoming. And maybe, if he was lucky, more chances to talk with that girl who seemed to see through him.
The thought should have been terrifying. Instead, he found himself looking forward to it.
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AN:
Author like a balloon loosing air*...
Your dear author is done... didn't know how to write it yet did it somehow!
Surely I didn't forget to finish it yesterday... yeah... sure...
Anyway, enjoy tha chapters and let me know if I don't suck doing romance! CIAO! 👋